Baking/ Guest Bloggers

carrot bread

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Hi, my name is Heather Christo from heatherchristo.com, and I am Jenna’s guest blogger for the day! I am so excited and honored that Jenna asked me to contribute a recipe for Eat, Live Run, which I personally read all the time. I hope you enjoy this little recipe for Carrot bread!

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I have had a tremendous amount of carrots in my crisper for the last few weeks. I have been debating how much crudités I could bring myself to eat, when I thought about using carrots in a new way- a sweet way.

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It immediately made me think of things like squash and sweet potato. Similarly to those vegetables, I thought that carrots would make a good puree. And gently baked with some butter, they did indeed make a lovely puree. I was incredibly struck by how the carrots smelled- sweet and naturally spiced (like the smell of a baking sweet potato)!

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I decided to turn the puree into bread, and the recipe did not disappoint. I was happily surprised to see the gorgeous orange color of the bread, and the moist, tender crumb was really impressive. The top (always my favorite part) had just a touch of sugary, crispy crust- soooooo good!

If you too have an overgrown carrot supply- try this surprisingly delicious bread in place of your usual banana or pumpkin- you will be happy you did!

Carrot Bread

makes 2 loaves

2 Tbs butter

6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into ½ “ pieces

¼ cup water

1 cup butter

3 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 cups flour

1 Tbs baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a small pan, melt the butter.

Add the carrots to a baking dish, and pour the butter over the carrots. Toss to coat the carrots with the butter.

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Bake the bread at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the carrots are soft.

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Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a food processor, add the carrots and the melted butter. Puree with the water until the carrots are a smooth and creamy puree.

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Set the puree aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar.

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Add the eggs.

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In a separate bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.

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Add half of the carrot puree and half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl.

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Mix until combined, and then add the rest of the carrots and the dry ingredients.

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Mix everything until it’s a well combined and creamy batter.

Prepare two loaf pans with baking spray.

Evenly divide the batter between the two loaf pans.

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Bake the bread at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until just cooked through in the center.

Remove from the pans quickly in order to not have it over bake.

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Let cool slightly before slicing.

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Enjoy!!

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  • Heather (Heather's Dish)
    March 2, 2011 at 5:05 am

    this sounds wonderful heather! i never would have thought to bake and puree the carrots, but i can only imagine it adds a fabulous sweetness to the bread 🙂

  • maria @ Chasing the Now
    March 2, 2011 at 5:05 am

    I’ve never considered using carrots in a sweet bread. Great idea.

  • Kristen @ That Hoosier Girl
    March 2, 2011 at 5:07 am

    Yum! It sounds like zucchini bread’s sweeter, orange-ier cousin! Perfect excuse to turn the veggie glaring at me from the fridge into something I’m more likely to eat 🙂

  • Blog is the New Black
    March 2, 2011 at 5:08 am

    Love your new header! This looks great- and I LOVE the color.

  • Lauren at Keep It Sweet
    March 2, 2011 at 5:09 am

    Carrot bread is such a terrific idea!! I love the color of it.

  • Jessica @ How Sweet
    March 2, 2011 at 5:13 am

    Hmmm vegetables in bread… I might need a little more convincing. Like… a loaf in my kitchen. 😉

  • Stephanie Rose
    March 2, 2011 at 5:15 am

    this looks delish! i wonder could you make it with a white whole wheat flour?

  • Estela @ Weekly Bite
    March 2, 2011 at 5:16 am

    Looks delicious! I love Carrot Cake, so there’s no doubt in my mind I’d devour this 🙂

  • Katrina
    March 2, 2011 at 5:17 am

    Mmm this sounds lovely! I absolutely adore carrot cake, so I’m sure I’d like this. Great idea!

  • Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat
    March 2, 2011 at 5:21 am

    This looks awesome! I love carrots, so I don’t think this would last very long in my house!

  • Camille
    March 2, 2011 at 5:42 am

    This looks wonderful! Thanks for the guest recipe!

  • Amy
    March 2, 2011 at 5:45 am

    Oh yummy! I’ve got some carrots that have been waiting patiently in my refrigerator for an opportunity like this 🙂 Can’t wait to try it!

  • Hannah (Culture Connoisseur)
    March 2, 2011 at 5:52 am

    I will be trying this. Odd, I never considered this idea before and now I’m kicking myself for having wasted 24 years without it! Thanks for the recipe!

  • Justeen @ Blissful Baking
    March 2, 2011 at 6:16 am

    I am already in love with this bread and I haven’t even tried it yet! 🙂 I’m intrigued by the carrot puree versus the shredded carrots that are used in most carrot quick bread recipes. I’m definitely going to be making a loaf of this very, VERY soon!

  • Kelly @ Laughter, Strength, and Food
    March 2, 2011 at 6:42 am

    I have a ton of carrots in my fridge now. This is a must try! Can’t wait!

  • Jillian @ Reshape Your Life
    March 2, 2011 at 7:03 am

    I would have never thought to make bread with carrots! Then again I’m not very creative with carrots lol. Awesome post Heather!

  • Briana
    March 2, 2011 at 7:09 am

    I have a ton of carrots in my fridge that need to be used! Thanks for the great recipie! (And this bread is good for you right? Since there are veggies involved ;))

  • Sabrina @ Radioactive Runner
    March 2, 2011 at 7:25 am

    Carrot bread… who would have thought?! It does look pretty good though!!

  • Jenny
    March 2, 2011 at 7:28 am

    I have a fridge full of carrots needing to be sweetened up! Thanks for sharing this recipe!

  • notyet100
    March 2, 2011 at 7:30 am

    this looks so flavourful,..

  • Angharad
    March 2, 2011 at 7:36 am

    Genius! I make a butternut squash bread the same way but for some reason carrots never occurred to me! Lovely.

  • Coco
    March 2, 2011 at 7:46 am

    HOLY YUM

  • Current Instincts
    March 2, 2011 at 8:04 am

    Those carrots look beautiful! And I bet they taste beautiful too in bread form.

  • Michelle
    March 2, 2011 at 8:13 am

    Looks delicious. I LOVE zucchini bread, so I bet I’d love this, too.

  • britt
    March 2, 2011 at 8:29 am

    this looks so good!! i too have a ton of carrots from a trip to the farmers market but never thought of using them for bread. great idea!

  • Sonia (the Mexigarian)
    March 2, 2011 at 8:35 am

    LOL. Carrot bread and carrot cake were on the tip of my mind the other morning when I realized I had about 2 lbs of carrots sitting in my fridge plus the jar of carrot puree I made. Thanks for the recipe. Couldn’t have come at a better time.

  • Natalia - a side of simple
    March 2, 2011 at 8:45 am

    I’m not one for mixing vegetables and bread/cakes/desserts but you’ve got me convinced with those glazed carrots, Heather. Thanks for sharing!

  • Baking 'n' Books
    March 2, 2011 at 8:51 am

    I’ve been needing to make a Carrot Cake lately! Stuck on the bananas still…never go out of style 😉

    Seems like a lot of sugar and butter -but 2 loaves right? I LOVE the color – unexpected!

  • Stephanie @ Live Cook Love
    March 2, 2011 at 9:05 am

    I’ve never thought of doing this! What a great idea! The carrots straight out of the oven with butter sound great too, I am going to have to try both! Great post!

  • Jess
    March 2, 2011 at 9:24 am

    great twist on quick bread!

  • Mr & Mrs P
    March 2, 2011 at 9:25 am

    This looks great!!!!

  • French Heart
    March 2, 2011 at 10:08 am

    Love the color. Today is ‘Read Across America Day’ I’ll need that carrot bread for my eyesight as read through my stack of books, thanks!

  • Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels
    March 2, 2011 at 10:55 am

    I love carrots, they’re my favorite vegetable but I’ve never thought of making carrot bread before. It looks so beautiful and flavorful! 🙂

  • Beth @ DiningAndDishing
    March 2, 2011 at 10:59 am

    Great recipe! I checked out Heather’s blog – she pretty much has the life of my dreams :).

  • Emily @ Savory and Savage
    March 2, 2011 at 11:09 am

    The bread looks delicious!

  • Mauimandy@The Grains of Paradise
    March 2, 2011 at 11:09 am

    So pretty! What a great idea 🙂

  • duffy
    March 2, 2011 at 11:34 am

    REALLY 3 cups of sugar? I get it’s 2 loaf pans, but is it possible to bring this down at all?

  • Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga)
    March 2, 2011 at 11:46 am

    Heather the bread looks great!

    I just recently made No Bake Oatmeal Raisin Carrot Cake bites. I love carrot cake and the flavors and I would love this bread.

    Jenna, hope your move is going okay!!! 🙂

  • Melomeals: Vegan for $3.33 a Day
    March 2, 2011 at 12:04 pm

    this looks fantastic! I love the cooked pureed carrot.. I always make mine with shredded raw carrot

  • chelsey @ clean eating chelsey
    March 2, 2011 at 12:13 pm

    That looks fantastic! I love carrots/carrot cake, so I am sure I would love this too!

  • Alexia @ Dimple Snatcher
    March 2, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    I ABSOLUTELY love this. At first I was confused and thought you meant banana bread and I was like “been there, done that,” but finally my brain caught up and I was like, “Ohhhhh.” Lovelovelove this 🙂

  • melissa
    March 4, 2011 at 9:38 am

    made this yesterday and it was soooooo delicious – have to admit, it seemed (and tasted) more like carrot cake to me but i’m not complaining (and neither is my husband or friends who i shared with!) such a vibrant color and more importantly, so good!!!

  • keep on cookin...
    April 24, 2012 at 5:17 pm

    You dont say how much butter to add at the 2 diferent times you call to “Add the butter”. Am I adding a cup to the carrots when they bake, and adding the 2TBSP to the mix..or other way around???

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    September 11, 2012 at 7:22 am

    […] and was hoping carrot bread would be somewhat similar.  The recipe I found looked really good (see here), so I went for it.  Of course, I made a few adjustments to make it my own though! Ingredient […]

  • Valerie Lin
    September 11, 2012 at 8:20 am

    Love this! I adjust the recipe to include more carrots, brown sugar and a different blend of spices (check out my version at http://www.valsbakedgoods.com//2012/09/11/carrot-bread/. AMAZING! Thank you for the inspiration and base for my own recipe. Truly delicious.

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